


well, does it?

by TheDragonLover



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, mother left amibuous
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2019-07-07 17:52:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15913278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDragonLover/pseuds/TheDragonLover
Summary: Morgan presents a rather tough question to her father. He tries his best to answer it, truthfully.---Written using a prompt.





	well, does it?

Robin looked over his daughter’s map, smiling at how excited she was to show him the strategies she had been working on. Morgan was quickly catching up to him, and while it gave him an urgent need to work harder to stay ahead, it also made him glow with pride. Perhaps he’d have to take up strategy games with Virion once more…

“Daddy? Are you listening?”

“Ah, yes, of course!” He really had been, never wanting to be caught off-guard by his sometimes rather eccentric daughter. But he supposed part of his mind had been wandering a tiny bit to consider how he’d attempt to best Virion’s tactics. He leaned forward, tapping the path the imaginary soldiers in Morgan’s plan were supposed to take to safety. “What about the fog?”

“Huh? Fog?”

“Around this time of year, at this elevation, fog often settles in these dips of the earth.” He gestured around the area. “Limited visibility can be treacherous for a traveling army, and a cover for enemies to set up an ambush.”

“Oh, you’re right! Of course! Duh!” She looked like she wanted to smack her face with a tome.

Robin couldn’t help a laugh, and smiled apologetically at her pout. “Don’t worry,” he reassured her. “Your strategies are improving every day.”

“Yeah, but I’ve got so far to go! I’ve got to be as great a tactician as  _you,_  Dad!”

_Heh, you’re… pretty close to it, already._  He really only had his previous experience in the area to thank, for remembering about the climate. Something he hadn’t always had, and Morgan had to get. Brushing the hair out of her face (mostly to stop the  _phhhbt_ of her trying to blow it out of the way) he reminded, “It comes with experience and lots of studying, and even more hard work. It won’t happen overnight.”

“I know, but… I wish I was on your level  _now._ ” Before he could deflect the praise, she gave another huff and asked, “Does it get easier?”

“Huh?”

“Leading and learning and –  _everything._ ” Morgan waved at the table. “Does it get easier, making these strategies?”

The immediate “yes” was almost out of Robin’s mouth when he had to pause. It wasn’t the  _wrong_ answer per se, but it wasn’t the whole truth either.

“…I can’t promise that it will.” Her head tilted, eyes wide and eager to absorb more information. His wife said it was something she inherited from him. Tapping the map, he explained, “You will learn a lot as you continue using your mind, on and off the battlefield. Theoretically, the more you know, the easier it will be to create tactics. But that’s with the assumption that your position never improves.

“But if you prove yourself on a small scale, you might be given bigger responsibilities, which introduces more factors to handle or overcome. And if you’re given leadership over more people, that will also change probabilities, and you’ll have to work harder to reduce injuries and casualties. So in the end, it might become  _harder_  to strategize the more you do it.”

Robin tapped the map, thinking of the nights he spends pouring over tomes and maps, which have happened more frequently as the war effort goes on. Battlefields become bigger, mistakes become deadlier, and each failure grows heavier on his shoulders. His little girl wanted to be just like him… Was he acting as the best role model he could be for her?

His line of sight was suddenly blocked by a pair of piercing eyes. Startled, he took a step back. “Gah! Morgan?!”

“Your forehead was scrunching up really hard again.” She poked said spot. “You’re gonna get wrinkles if you keep it up!”

“Heh. Sorry, Morgan.” He ruffled her head, making her smack his arm away with a cute pout. Definitely not something she got from him. (His wife would disagree.) “Didn’t mean to sound all doom and gloom.”

“It’s okay, Dad! I know it gets tough. And you’re right, being a tactician isn’t going to get easier just like that.” She straightened up, tome tucked against her chest as she met his gaze. There was a determined glint in her eyes that surprised him. “That’s why I’m going to work as hard as ever to help wherever I can! I mean, that’s what  _you_  did, right?”

“…yeah, I did, huh?” Sometimes he did  _too_  much, which caused the others to worry for his health.  _Oops?_  At least he was better about that nowadays. Sort of. Maybe. A little.

“And you may have more people to keep safe, but that means there are more people to keep  _everyone_  safe!” She grabbed his hand, holding it up as she cheered, “We’re all working together for a common goal, and that makes us stronger! Our bonds, right?”

Robin’s smile brightened considerably as he brought her into a tight hug. She squeaked. “Dad?!”

“You’re already an excellent tactician, Morgan.” He watched her face light up at the praise, and kissed her forehead. “You might have a lot to learn, but  _that_  is one of the most important things for a tactician to remember.”  _I don’t want you to be better than me JUST yet… but I’m going to be so proud when you do._  “Now let’s look over this scenario again.”

“Yay! Okay okay, so now that I know about the fog, I can try to counteract it with…”

**Author's Note:**

> Written using a prompt from @WordsNStuff's January 2018 prompts: “Does it get easier?”
> 
> If you want to put in a request for more of this (or with different characters), or for something new, throw an ask at my writing blog, @thatdragonsdrabbles.


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